Winnipegger tweets marriage proposal

Proposal is talk of the Twitter town

Winnipegger Mike Duerksen is proposing to his girlfriend J. April 12, 2012 -- but first he's taking her on eight special dates, to sentimental and inside-joke locations. While he's doing it, he's live-tweeting the whole thing, to the delight of romantic �Peggers. (INSTAGRAM.COM)

Winnipegger Mike Duerksen is proposing to his girlfriend J. (shown) April 12, 2012 -- but first he's taking her on eight special dates, to sentimental and inside-joke locations. While he's doing it, he's live-tweeting the whole thing, to the delight of romantic �Peggers. (INSTAGRAM.COM)

INSTAGRAM.COM

Winnipegger Mike Duerksen is proposing to his girlfriend J. (shown) April 12, 2012 -- but first he's taking her on eight special dates, to sentimental and inside-joke locations. While he's doing it, he's live-tweeting the whole thing, to the delight of romantic �Peggers. (INSTAGRAM.COM)

INSTAGRAM.COM

Winnipegger Mike Duerksen is proposing to his girlfriend J. (shown) April 12, 2012 -- but first he's taking her on eight special dates, to sentimental and inside-joke locations. While he's doing it, he's live-tweeting the whole thing, to the delight of romantic �Peggers. (INSTAGRAM.COM)

INSTAGRAM.COM

Winnipegger Mike Duerksen is proposing to his girlfriend J. (shown) April 12, 2012 -- but first he's taking her on eight special dates, to sentimental and inside-joke locations. While he's doing it, he's live-tweeting the whole thing, to the delight of romantic �Peggers. (INSTAGRAM.COM)

Duerksen arranged a very special day for his love partner Friday — culminating in a proposal for marriage, which she accepted — and he invited the Twitterverse along for the ride.

Duerksen announced his intentions late Thursday night on Twitter.

“The plan is very simple,” tweeted Duerksen, who handles PR duties at Siloam Mission. “Over the next 12 hours I’ll be taking her on eight different dates to eight different places. Each location has a story and a special meaning behind it.”

Duerksen identified the woman only as J.

The couple shared their first date Friday morning at Stella’s restaurant. Their final date was at a bonfire in the backyard of his parents’ home. Duerksen had planned to pop the question in the park where he first asked J out, but rain forced a change of plans.

Duerksen contacted the Winnipeg Sun during a bathroom break at date No. 4, the St. Andrews locks.

“We’re doing a bit of a picnic,” he said in a voice mail message. “Every Sunday when the weather is nice we drive out here.”

Duerksen attracted hundreds of new followers as the day went on. He said Twitter seemed the ideal vehicle to update his friends on his day.

“I had no idea it would take off to the extent that it has,” Duerksen said. “I had no idea it would be trending.”

Before he asked J to be his wife, Duerksen said there was little danger his bride-to-be would learn of his plot through Twitter.

“She thinks Twitter is a much lamer version of Facebook for geeks,” he tweeted. “She’s not on Twitter and she’s leaving her phone at home.”

Duerksen and J first met three years ago at a conference in Paraguay.

“Out of the 6,400 plus attendees, she caught my eye immediately,” he tweeted.

J returned to her home in Pennsylvania and Duerksen returned to Winnipeg, but the two stayed in touch. Last summer, J moved to Winnipeg. Not long after, Duerksen asked J out for their first real date.

Duerksen called J’s father in Abu Dhabi earlier this week to ask for her hand in marriage.